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Jurgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (born 16 June 1967) is a German football manager who is currently the manager of Liverpool F.C. After leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2015, Klopp signed with the Reds on 8 October 2015, following the departure of Brendan Rodgers. He took over a Liverpool team that had failed to qualify for the Champions League in the 2014-15 season and were generally considered to be performing below expectations. In his first seven months at the club, Klopp's side produced some fabulous performances, and managed to reach both the League Cup and the Europa League finals, but unfortunately could not win either. The 2016-17 season was overall seen as a success. Although no silverware was added, Klopp's side finished in the top four, gaining qualification for the Champions League, which was the target set at the beginning of the season. Liverpool career Upon the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, manager Brendan Rodgers was under substantial scrutiny after a poor season in which Liverpool fell to sixth place in the Premier League, having come close to winning the title the season before, and had failed to win any trophy for the third season running. Klopp and former manager Rafael Benitez were both linked with the job, with both of them having left their clubs that summer. Despite this, the owners stuck with Rodgers, but after a poor start to the 2015-16 season, the calls for Rodgers to leave intensified, and on 4 October 2015, after a 1-1 draw in the Merseyside Derby, it was confirmed that Rodgers had been sacked. Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti were both immediately linked with the job, with reports quickly surfacing that Klopp was the club's leading candidate. On 7 October, the BBC reported that Klopp was to be announced as manager the following day, and indeed, on 8 October 2015, it was confirmed that Klopp had become the 20th manager of Liverpool Football Club, signing a three year deal. The following day he was officially unveiled as the club's new manager at a press conference at Anfield. After some comparison with Jose Mourinho, Klopp was asked to describe himself in a similar vein to "The Special One", but jokingly said "I don't want to describe myself. I'm a totally normal guy, I'm the "normal one". On 17 October 2015, Klopp took charge of his first game for the club, a 0-0 draw at Tottenham. During the first half an hour, Klopp's pressing play was shown to a high standard, but with players such as Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings, Christian Benteke, and Roberto Firmino ruled out through injury, a breakthrough couldn't be found. Five days later, Klopp managed at Anfield for the first time, drawing 1-1 against Rubin Kazan. On 25 October, Klopp took charge of his first home League game, another 1-1 draw, this time to Southampton. Christian Benteke gave Liverpool the lead, but poor set piece defending allowed the Saints to equalise with minutes remaining. On 28 October 2015, Klopp won his first game in charge of the club, beating Bournemouth 1-0 at Anfield in the League Cup, with Nathaniel Clyne netting the winner. Klopp named a very youthful side, with Cameron Brannagan and Joao Carlos Teixeira making their first starts, and Connor Randall making his debut for the club. Three days later, the German won his first League game in charge, smashing Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, with Philippe Coutinho netting a brace, before Christian Benteke rounded it off. This result meant that Klopp was the first Liverpool manager since Bob Paisley to go undefeated in his first five games. On 5 November, Klopp won his third game in the row, beating Rubin Kazan 1-0 away, with Jordon Ibe netting the winning goal in a dominant performance. However, on 8 November 2015, Liverpool were defeated 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace, Klopp's first defeat in charge of the club. On 21 November 2015, Liverpool delivered a stunning performance as Klopp's side crushed Manchester City away, beating the home side 4-1 at the Etihad. The Reds scored three goals in the first 32 minutes, with Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino particularly impressing, and both getting on the scoresheet. Joe Hart prevented Liverpool from running rampant, before Martin Skrtel smashed in the fourth from the edge of the box in the 81st minute. Five days later, Liverpool qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League, beating Bordeaux 2-1 at Anfield. On 2 December 2015, Liverpool took part in the quarter-final of the League Cup, and progressed in spectacular style, smashing Southampton 6-1 at St Mary's. Daniel Sturridge netted twice in his first start under Klopp, and Jordon Ibe continued his great form by getting on the scoresheet, but Divock Origi made the headlines, netting a hattrick. However, just four days later, Liverpool put in one of their worst performances of the season, suffering a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle. Two weeks later, the Reds suffered a huge 3-0 defeat away to newly promoted Watford. This bad run of form was ended on 26 December 2015, when Christian Benteke's strike gave Liverpool a 1-0 win against top of the league Leicester City. Four days later, Klopp's side ended the year on a high, beating Sunderland by a goal to nil away from home. 2016 got off to a disastrous start, as the Reds were beaten 2-0 by West Ham at Upton Park. Klopp claimed he was very angry at his team's performance, and demanded a response in their next game. The players did provide a response as Jordon Ibe's goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win at Stoke in the League Cup semi-final first leg. However, it wasn't all positive, as Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren were both withdrawn with hamstring injuries. On 6 January 2016, Klopp completed his first signing, adding Marko Grujic to the Liverpool squad from Red Star Belgrade for a reported fee of around £5,100,000, but only to loan him back to the club for the remainder of the season. Two days later, Klopp took charge in the FA Cup first time, but was forced by injuries to field a very young starting XI, with the likes of Tiago Ilori, and Ryan Kent making their debuts. The game ended 2-2, with Jerome Sinclair and Brad Smith both scoring their first goals for the club. Klopp's second signing was made on 12 January 2016, with Steven Caulker signing on loan for the rest of the season. A day later, Liverpool drew 3-3 to Arsenal in a thrilling game, with Roberto Firmino netting a brace and Joe Allen scoring a dramatic final minute equaliser. However, four days later the Reds fell to defeat at home to bitter rivals Manchester United, with the opposition scoring with their only shot on target, in a game Liverpool largely dominated. The Reds progressed to the 4th round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win in the replay at home to Exeter, with Sheyi Ojo and Joao Carlos Teixeira grabbing their first goals for the club. In the next League fixture, the Reds visited Norwich, and produced an astounding fixture, winning 5-4 with Adam Lallana netting the winner in the 95th minute. Klopp passionately celebrated this with his players, and ended up with his glasses broken by Christian Benteke. On 26 January 2016, the Reds progressed to the 2016 League Cup Final, beating Stoke on penalties at Anfield. On 2 February 2016, the Reds were soundly beaten 2-0 at the home of top of the table Leicester. Four days later, Klopp was absent from the 2-2 draw with Sunderlands, with appendicitis, with Zeljko Buvac taking on the role of manager. On 9 February 2016, Liverpool went out of the FA Cup, being unlucky to lose at West Ham, with the Hammers scoring the winner in the final minute of extra time. The disappointment however was marred by the return of Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, and Divock Origi. And so in the next League game, the Reds thoroughly smashed Aston Villa on their own ground, beating them 6-0 with six different scorers. On 28 February 2016, Liverpool lost the League Cup final, losing 3-1 on penalties to Manchester City after drawing 1-1 over 120 minutes. Three days later however, the fixture was repeated at Anfield, and the Reds ran out 3-0 victors, in one of the best performances under Klopp. On 10 March 2016, Liverpool took on Manchester United in Europe for the first time, and won 2-0. A week later they sealed passage to the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Three days later, Liverpool were beaten 3-2 at Southampton, despite leading 2-0 at half time. Many criticised Klopp's decision to substitute Dejan Lovren for Martin Skrtel, as the defence was extremely poor after his introduction. Klopp made his return to Borussia Dortmund on 7 April 2016, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The manager selected Divock Origi to start over Daniel Sturridge, and his decision clearly worked out, as Origi scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw. Three days later, a much changed team beat Stoke 4-1, with Klopp's biggest win at Anfield. On 14 April 2016, Liverpool hosted Dortmund for the second leg of the quarter-final, and the Germans quickly showed a different side, gaining a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes. In the second half however, the Reds made a miraculous comeback, and Dejan Lovren made it 4-3 in the 90th minute, to send Jurgen's team into the semi-final. On 20 April 2016, Klopp took charge of his first Merseyside Derby, and his side put in a stellar performance, smashing their rivals 4-0. Three days later, Liverpool threw away a two goal lead for the third time this season, with Newcastle coming from behind to draw 2-2 at Anfield. On 28 April 2016, Liverpool were defeated 1-0 at Villarreal in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, and Klopp came under real criticism for the first time, being accused of being too defensive and not using Daniel Sturridge at all. A week later however, Klopp's side ran out 3-0 victors in the second leg, as Liverpool progressed to the 2016 Europa League Final, as Klopp took them to their second final within just seven months of his reign. Klopp took charge of his 50th game for Liverpool on 11 May 2016, in a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea. On 18 May 2016, Liverpool lost the Europa League Final, losing 3-1 to Sevilla despite Daniel Sturridge opening the scoring. After a busy transfer window, with seven new signings and many more outgoings, Liverpool started off the 2016-17 season on 14 August with a 4-3 win at Arsenal. In the next game however, Klopp came under a lot of criticism after a very poor performance saw the Reds fall to a 2-0 defeat at Burnley. This was the Reds' only defeat in the opening five games however, with victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester, as well as a draw at Tottenham setting the stage for an exciting season. The Reds' exciting performance led to Klopp being made Manager of the Month for September. Despite suffering goalless draws against Manchester United and Southampton, Liverpool continued to earn points and found themselves 2nd in the league at the end of November, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup. On 4 December however, the Reds surrendered a 3-1 lead away to Bournemouth, eventually losing 4-3, with Loris Karius adjudged to be at fault for the winner. Klopp kept faith in Karius and started him in the next game, but Karius once again made mistakes leading to goals in a 2-2 draw with West Ham. In order to protect the player from media criticism, Klopp brought Simon Mignolet back into the starting XI, with the Belgian keeping clean sheets in his first two games, including a 1-0 win away to Everton. Two weeks later, Klopp led his side to a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, leaving Liverpool in second place at the New Year, four points ahead of City. However, on the turn of the New Year, Liverpool's form took a downturn, with the Reds winning just one of their eight games in January. Klopp's side were knocked out of both domestic cups, and looked to be out of the title race as well. A positive performance in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea was quickly wiped out after a 2-0 defeat at Hull. On 11 February however, a very positive performance saw the Reds beat second placed Tottenham 2-0 at Anfield, starting some hope of a turn around in form. Due to a 17 day break between fixtures, the players were taken out to La Manga in Spain for a training camp, in an attempt to bring the players closer together and try and turn around the poor form they had been in. The first game back after this break however, saw Leicester smash Klopp's side 3-1, with Philippe Coutinho's goal being the only consolation. On 4 March 2017, Liverpool put in possibly their best performance of the season, beating Arsenal 3-1 at Anfield to keep the race for the top four alive. The Reds went another three games unbeaten after this, including a second Merseyside Derby win, beating Everton 3-1 at Anfield. However their Champions League hopes suffered a big blow on 23 April 2017, after an extremely poor performance led to a 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace. In the remaining four games, three of them were victories, leading to Champions League qualification in Klopp's first full season in charge of the club. The summer of 2017 did not go according to the club’s plans. Early on they were accused of tapping up Virgil van Dijk by Southampton, ending all possibilities of a deal being agreed in the summer transfer window. Klopp also had to deal with a transfer request from Philippe Coutinho, who was desperate to complete a move to Barcelona. There were however, big positives. Mohamed Salah was brought in for a club record fee, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Robertson were big acquisitions to the squad. A deal was also agreed to bring Naby Keita to the club in the following summer. The 2017-18 season began reasonably well, with two wins in the first three league games, as well as victory over Hoffenheim in the Champions League qualifiers. After the international break however, a 5-0 defeat to Man City and a three-match suspension for Sadio Mane led to a downturn in form, with Klopp’s men on a run of just one victory in eight games. After a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham, the Reds saw an upturn in form, with seven wins in nine, cumulating in a 7-0 win over Spartak Moscow to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. On 29 December, a deal was finally agreed to bring Virgil van Dijk to the club, with a record fee of £75,000,000 being agreed for the Dutchman. Just a week later however, Philippe Coutinho moved to Barcelona for well over £100,000,000. Honours Individual *Premier League Manager of the Month: 2 (September 2016, December 2018) Stats See also *Jurgen Klopp/Transfers Category:Managers